Archive of Our Own

"Good Morning, everyone!" Merlin beamed as he entered the meeting room to greet his comrades, "It's a beautiful day to save lives. Let's have some fun."

"Stop," Jack yawned as he went to the kitchen to make himself some coffee, "It's our day off. We don't have anything to do today, all requests have been put to a halt." 

"Oh come on I got a good case for you guys today!" Merlin pushed with a smile. 

Jack turned to him and frowned, "You don't-" 

But he was then interrupted by Hans who tagged his sleeve and shook his head, "Don't, you can't win." 

"Well, let's hear it, Merlin." Arthur sat on his seat, "What have you got for us?"

"Love the enthusiasm, Arthur ol' boy!" Merlin snapped his fingers before going to the board and pulling out case files and pinning them towards the board. 

"You all know of the incident that happened in the White Palace last year." 

"A whole kingdom vanished, leaving the castle in nothing but ruins," Pino recalled. 

A woman had come to them around this time last year and begged for their help to save the White Palace. The woman didn't seem familiar to them, and they were just getting over the loss of a close comrade of theirs. Not to mention several requests have been piling up at that time of the year, so they just couldn't take another one. 

"Precisely, I've taken the liberty to revive this case in hopes of restoring the White Palace into its former glory," Merlin claimed. 

Jack crossed one leg over the other, "But no one has even been inside the White Palace for years." 

"Right you are again, however, the witch who occupied the castle has recently passed away. So unfortunate. I wonder how." he put his finger under his chin as if implying something.

"But if a witch dies their works and curses are supposedly lifted, that's how it works, right?" Kio asked Merlin. 

"Supposedly, yes. However this one doesn't seem to budge…" he told them, "Which is why I'm going today to investigate the palace. Who's coming?" 

Merlin excitedly looked towards his teammates. 

Hans sighed and stood up, "Merlin, we all want to solve that mysterious White case, but this is our day off. I have to go find…" he trailed off before recovering his words, "There's a rumor that she's visiting Golden Goose today. I need to find her." 

The latter nodded in understanding, "Yeah, we do need your skills back on the team after all; Twins?" He turned to Pino and Kio. 

"I'm meeting with my supplier today for resources for our work," Pino explained. 

"I'm helping my friend in Golden Goose today," Kio simply said. 

Merlin huffed then turned to Jack and Arthur. 

"Nope! My day off is spent for lovely ladies, not curses." Arthur loosened his collar. 

"Ugh…" Jack rolled his eyes beside him, "But he has a point, Merlin. We can do this tomorrow but we really need a break. How about this, you go do some recon on the palace and report about it when you get back, then we can have a better scope of what to do when we go tomorrow." 

"So you just automatically assumed that I'd let you take your day off?" he crossed his arms. 

Jack stood up as he smirked at Merlin, walking towards him before resting his elbow on his shoulder. "Aren't you, leader?" 

Jack was the first member that Merlin had asked to join the F7, so they often had a sense of comradery as if they were good pals. It was often easy for the blond man to negotiate with him. 

Pino, who had been munching on some Dog Food, sat on his chair as he watched this unfold in front of him. "Mm...gross, get a room."

Merlin had only grumbled and shoved Jack off, "Fine! But we're doing things my way tomorrow, no complaining!" 

"Later, don't wait up!" Arthur announced as he left the front door with Jack and Kio. 

"It's ten in the morning!" Merlin shouted back at him. 

"Pino, you're taking the forest route right? Can I walk with you till we hit Golden Goose? I could use the scenery to calm me down…" he admitted with a sheepish grin. 

He nodded with an understanding smile, "Of course, it's the first time you're going to meet her in a long time." 

They had walked a different route from Jack, Arthur, and Kio as they engaged in their own conversation. 

"Any luck on her whereabouts?" Pino asks Hans. 

The two men had taken a walk a little west of Golden Goose, both running separate errands. Hans sighed as he frowned, "Not at all."

Hans knew he didn't have much time left. After a recent fight with the local sorcerer, his hand had gotten crushed in debris as he was flung back by a large amount of magical energy. Though doctors were able to fix it for the most part, the nerves in his hand were far beyond repair, and his hand would shake every time he picked something up. Of all people, it had to be the chef who feeds his team the nutrients they need to do all that princess saving. 

"I mean finding her is one thing," he mumbled, "But to ask for a donor nerve? Ask her to go under surgery to get a part of her to transplant to me? Of all people after what I've done to her?" 

"Gretel, huh?" Pino asked. He had only heard about her a couple of times from Hans, and knew she was sort of taboo subject to the F7. He didn't know much about her, other than the fact that the two were not on good terms. Hans looked at him with a tilt of the head, "Her name, I mean. Gretel right?" Pino clarified.

He responded with a nod. 

"If you two are siblings then I'm sure she'd go through thick and thin for you," he told her. 

The ginger haired chef laughed, "You know you would've gotten along with her." 

Pino raised an eyebrow at the sudden change of subject, "Why do you say so?"  

"Well, I hear she's amazingly smart now," he started, "But when we were kids she sort of had this sense of wonder in her eyes, like she could never leave anything undiscovered. She would bring me along these small title adventures when we were kids…" he trailed off before shaking his head, "You would've liked her, that's all I'm saying." 

Pino hummed as he thought about that. He obviously had a lot of offers in terms of courting and even marriage, all of the F7 did. But no one ever struck him as…important or 'eye catching' enough. 

"Aren't you getting off here?" Hans asked as he gestured to the woods that were nearby the entrance of Golden Goose. 

"Yeah," he nodded, "You'll be in the pub?" 

"Arthur and Jack are there, and if the rumors I heard were true then my sister should be a frequent visitor there too." 

"Alright, well," Pino waved, "Best of luck to you, see you later." 

While Hans went off to see his sister, Pino went off to the woods to look for a certain supplier who had a cabin there. He met her there with the intention of getting more resources for his new project. He had knew her for quite some time now, he and his brothers would have visits by her family every so often when they were children, but they never really spoke until recently, as she was often overshadowed by her older siste-

"Please help me!" 

A shriek came out to the far end of his right. Pino dropped his bag and rushed towards the voice, but it wasn't long before a flash of red bumped into him, causing them to both fall down on the dirt. 

"H-hey…" Pino asked, grabbing his hat, "Are you okay?" 

But the petite girl with straw brown hair and a red cloak was taking many short breaths. Why, one would assume she was hysterical when they looked at her face. 

"Y-you have to help me!" She begged, clasping his hands is full desperation, "I-I'm under a curse that turns me into some sort of monster, and I have no idea what to do I can't-"

"Hey, take deep breaths first," Pino leaned back frowning, "If you're under a curse then you should go to Golden Goose, there a couple of mages I'm sure can-" 

"NO!" She screamed as her fingers dug into his arm, "No more witches or mages!" 

'Okaayyy…' Pino said internally, 'This is officially too much…' 

He dug out a pouch from his pocket, quickly wanting to remove himself from the situation. He certainly wasn't fond of helping out someone who seemed borderline crazy. 

"Look, here's some money for food or whatever, I have to go but I hope you can find the help you're looking for." 

Before the girl could respond, the prince had grabbed his bag and left her to stare at him as he ran off deeper into the woods. She held back her tears of annoyance and only sighed in frustration. 

"Way to go, Gwen. Just like you to scare off your rare chance of help…" 

As Pino neared his destination he had straightened out the part of his sleeve she clung to, "Talk about Fairy Tale Island…you definitely meet a lot of strange people." 

He had finally arrived at the cabin where his supplier lived. He stopped at her door and knocked. 

"Hello? Are you there?" Pino yelled. 

No response. 

"It's Pino." He paused after then huffed, "C'mon, Goldie. I don't have a lot of time." 

"Geez, would it kill you to be a little patient?" The girl with the messy blonde hair emerged from the woods, holding a bucket of freshly caught fish from the nearby river. "I tell you, this would be a lot easier if I had someone to help me fish these…" 

"Give me that," he held out his hand, "I just need my order asap." 

"Is there an emergency?" She asked. 

"No," 

"Do you have a rush order?" 

"No, but-" 

"Then you don't need these right away!" She scolded, "Just wait a sec geez. You're really bossy today!" 

"Well, there's no harm in getting what I want sooner…" Pino crossed his arms, though with the feeling that Goldie was right.

"Someone ought to teach you the virtue of patience," Goldie went over to the shed, pulling a ring of keys out of her pockets. She flipped through them bit by bit until she found the one she was looking for, "How's the team?" 

"Fine mostly," he responded, "Merlin is going over the White Palace Case, Jack has begun taking private commissions, Hans is looking for his sister Gretel…Arthur on the other hand has become a bit of a slut. Kio is working with-" 

"There's two types of ore I have here," she said holding them up in each hand, "Which one?" 

"Your left," he pointed as she hummed in confirmation, "Anyway, that's all I know from the meetings. We've all been doing our own thing now. The only time we're all together is if it's a group mission, of us asks for help, or just in the dining or Iiving room." 

"The Fearless Six," Goldie said aimlessly, "What a shame that one of them had to back out."

Pino frowned at this but didn't say anything. Yes, it's true. One of them did back out from the group after he just simply couldn't work with the rest of the team, even his brothers. 

Back in the woods where Gwen was quite upset herself, she heard another set of footsteps approaching her. Instinctively, she hid and peered out to the side to see who it was. You could imagine her relief when she saw the same face she saw earlier. Determined to apologize and make things right, she trotted up to him. 

"Excuse me," she said in a soft voice as the man turned around, "I'm really sorry for earlier, thank you for giving me this though." She held up the pouch.

But the man only tilted his head in confusion, "Erm…have we met?"

Instantly Gwen froze up and held her breath, "Oh! Of course someone as strong and handsome as you wouldn't want to associate with the likes of me…oh dear I am a fool, I apologize…" 

He frowned even more, 'What a low-self esteem this woman has…' he thought. 

"Thank you for giving this to me though, it really does help…unless you want it back of course." She dipped her head to avoid eye contact. 

Oh…he sees what's happened. 

"Would you mind telling me where I went after we met? I seemed to have gotten lost." He spoke calmly. 

"Huh…oh, I believe you went that way, east." She pointed. 

"Thank you, I'll be on my way now. May I ask for your name, milady?" The man had knelt down and gently held her hand, showing her a small smile of reassurance. Gwen couldn't help but blush at the gesture. 

"Gwen, sir." She told him. 

"Noki," he nodded and held a finger towards her lips, "But that's just between us, you never saw me. Okay?" He asked, his smile still charming as ever. 

"Of course!" She nodded happily. 

"Have a good one." He stood up before running along the exact opposite of where she told him 'he' went. 

Once he was out of sight from Gwen, Noki immediately lost his smile, "So one of my brothers is nearby…" he mumbled. 

Noki was supposedly the fourth member of what used to be the F7. It was fun while it lasted, but spending so much time with the same people over and over again can be tedious and frustrating. There were many things he couldn't stand, what they would do that would disrupt his work. He wanted more, he wanted his independence. Most of all he was sick of being lumped in with his brothers…

His departure was not well met, becoming estranged with his brothers and the F7. In truth he did want to come back, but he had no right to really. 

"Noki?" 

He looked up to see a blonde woman staring at him as she held logs in her arms. Ah...here she was.

Noki dropped his bag and immediately ran towards her. Goldie dropped the logs she was holding and stretched her arms out as she took him in them, embracing him as he held on to her tightly.

"He was with you?" He quickly asked as he buried his head in her shoulder. 

"Yeah...but I didn't say anything." she told him gently. 

Noki and Goldie had met soon after he ran away from the F7. She understood his situation and offered for him to live with her in her cabin. The two eventually fell in love and had gotten married after some time. They were both in the same boat regarding their families, and chose to run away. 

Their time together had been a little over two years, but they've been truly happy through it all. 

"You're really going to keep hiding from them? Pino is my customer, he's bound to see you one of these days. Don't get me started on Kio. He's very observant." 

"I can't...just," he paused, "Not yet." 

Goldie nodded in understanding as she rubbed her hand over his back soothingly, "Well alright. Let's go home and we can have some lunch, how does that sound?" 

Noki, grateful as ever to have her in his life, smiled thankfully. "Great, thank you, cara." 

On the west end of the Island, Merlin had finally made his way to the gates of the now abandoned White Palace. 

"The White Family, huh…" he muttered.

He figured the place would be more heavily guarded due to its historical relevance and left over treasures and artifacts, but to his surprise no one was even near it. It could be because of how it fell and that the people were scared they might get cursed too. 

He made it to the entrance hall of the dusty, ruined, halls. He put his hands on his hips and looked around the two hallways, left or right. 

"Where to start, where to start…" 

Suddenly he heard soft footsteps on the right hall, but they were enough for him to react.

"Who's there?!" Merlin quickly pulled his talismans out with his fingers.  

He saw a woman around his age, or maybe just a tad bit younger pop out of the corner. Her blonde hair was tied twice as a headband neatly covered the top. Her eyes seemed to deem her as someone who is always aloof, or absent-minded. Her blue-green wear looked very familiar, and the flute on her back only confirmed his suspicions as to who she was. 

"You're the Pied Piper, am I right?" Merlin asked as he lowered his talismans. 

The Piper nodded as he brought down his spells, "Sorry about that, miss." he told her. 

The Pied Piper was someone known among Fairy Tale Island, though hardly ever seen. Her music makes people...do certain things. It was a magic that Merlin never bothered tapping into.

"May I ask what you're doing here?" she tilted her head walking towards him. 

Merlin looked at the many paintings in the halls as he spoke, "Investigating exactly what happened here in the past couple of years." 

"Have you seen the King's room?" 

He shook his head. Though he knew of King White, he had never visited the kingdom himself, this was his first time. 

"Come with me then," she simply said as she walked past him with her hands behind her back. He turned around and looked at her for a bit before running after her.

"Ms. Piper," 

"Meredith," she simply spoke, her voice gentle yet straight to the point.

"Meredith," Merlin nodded as he asked, "Why the King's room?" 

"Why that's where the princess is of course." she had a little skip as she jumped over one of the many broken vases on the floor. Merlin was careful to watch his step too. 

"The princess? Is she still alive?" he asked quickly. 

"...Yes? But also no, not really." she shook her head. 

"Why do you say that?" The two began climbing up the spiral stairs that eventually led to the throne room, their footsteps echoing off the close walls. 

"It's better if you see for yourself, it's kind of hard to explain." she told him. 

They finally made their way to the long throne room. It was definitely dark and dusty. The floors and pillars were hugged by dead vines, and the root of it all was at the end of the room, where a dead tree stood. 

"The source of the curse, the Magic Mirror." Meredith looked on ahead. The pair walked towards it as Merlin observed the room. Shattered glass, broken pillars…

"There was a fight here," he said. 

Meredith nodded, "It looks like it. The Mirror is broken." she motioned to the shattered glass at the foot of the tree.

"Wow," he sighs in awe, "I wonder who had the guts to fight a witch and the Magic Mirror?" 

"It was the seventh, six, and tenth Delusions." she stated calmly as she observed the scene. 

Merlin turned to her with a questionable look, "How did you-" 

"Rumours that they were seen nearby surfaced a couple of months ago," she looked towards the playing card that was left on the ground, the king of spades, "You hear a lot when you travel." Indeed, now that she had mentioned it, he did see webs surrounding the ceilings. 

"But we're not here for the Magic Mirror, we're here to see the princess, right?" Meredith continued as she looked at Merlin. 

He nodded at her as he braced himself for what he might see, "Show me."

---

"Can I buy you a drink?" 

The red haired woman looked up from the bar counter. Golden Goose was the go to place for hangouts, dates, and get togethers. Almost everyone has been here. People would often use this tavern as either a meet up place, or relax with a drink after a long mission. 

The woman sitting beside him then turned to see one of the most iconic faces in the land. 

"Prince Arthur," her lips turned up into a lazy smile.

"Indeed, I am," he sat down next to her with a drink in hand, "Your name?" 

"Gretel," she held her hand out to which he then took it, placing a kiss on it. 

Arthur furrowed his eyebrows, wondering where he had heard that name again. But hey, a beautiful woman he didn't know a single thing about never really stopped him from flirting, even if he knew the thrill only lasted for a couple of moments. 

"Might that be a 'Princess Gretel'?" he asked hopefully. 

She laughed as she took a sip of her drink, "Boy, I haven't been called that title in ages."

"So you are?" he laughed, "What happened?" 

Gretel's scoff turned into a chuckle, "It's Fairy Tale Island, literally anything can happen here."

On the other side of the tavern, Jack thanked the service as he prepared his own tea. Soothing, yes, this was how he would unwind. 

Behind him he noticed a woman nodding off to sleep on her table. That was strange, he had never seen her here before. He turned around and gently woke her with a shake. 

"Mademoiselle, this is no place to sleep." he smiled, lightly poking her on the forehead. 

"...Oh, I'm so sorry," she gently smiled as she slowly woke up. Jack looked at her fondly as she rubbed her eyes, "I've just been pretty exhausted from my travels and this is the only place with good air conditioning." 

"Is that so? Would you like me to accompany you to a bed in the hotel nearby?" 

"..."

Well that definitely woke her up. The woman had winded her eyes and grown red. 

"S-sorry! I don't sleep with men I barely know!" she quickly thrust her hands towards him, creating more space between them. 

Jack looked confused with her until he realized his poor choice of words, "Oh dear god, no! Oh I'm so sorry that's not what it meant, I meant to drop you off at the lobby where you could rest! Désolé, Mademoiselle! Désolé!" He apologized profusely as he grew red. 

The woman had laughed, seeming to let her guard down at his quick change in personality, "It's alright, thank god that's what you meant though...I'm Audrey." She introduced herself.

Audrey…?

"Yes," he rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. He didn't know why that name felt strange to hear but he was determined to find out why, "I meant what I said though, maybe if I could take you on a date I could pay for your room?" He said, taking his shot.

"Oh…" the smile on her face fell. "Never mind, I'm good. Sorry to bother you." She stood up.

The blond man raised an eyebrow, and as soon as he saw the woman wasn't interested, his filter fell and had a bored look on his face.

"You're no fun, mademoiselle." he crossed his arms. 

"Well that's what you people like doing, huh?" Audrey frowned, "You don't do anything unless you get something out of it. You think everything in the world belongs to you...like you have all the power in the world." 

"For your information, I am the richest man on the island. I do have all the power." Jack stated firmly, putting a hand towards his chest. "What about you? You're the one who's acting all rude and snobbish just because I'm a royal." 

Audrey's eyes widened before she let out an empty laugh, "Excuse me?" she stared at him.

"Don't act all high and mighty, judging me like I'm the one with the problem when it's you. You can't just assume all royals are bad. My God, the minute I walked in here I saw you roll your eyes. How hypocritical is that? You're so quick to accuse me when you should be taking a look in the mirror." 

"Unbelievable," the water manipulator stood up and shook her head, "Have a nice day." she said before leaving. 

"I was!" he yelled a bit childishly. Hans, who had just walked in, passed the angry woman who swiftly brushed past him. He looked at her before turning his head back to the inside of the pub. He saw Jack looking at her, clearly upset at whatever just happened. 

"Prince Jack turned down? By the Delusions, what a sight that could've been if I were a bit earlier!" Hans grinned and slid in the booth next to him.

"Shut up...don't use that group name, it brings down the mood," Jack grumbled at the infamous group of Wonderland as he took a sip of his drink, "and she didn't turn me down! I turned her down. We just got into an argument. Stupid…" 

"You could make things better and apologize?" Hans suggested to which his friend laughed. 

"The woman is a complete stranger, I have no need to do so. Besides, should you not be apologizing yourself?" Jack gestured to the bar up ahead where Arthur was talking to the familiar red haired woman. 

"She," he lightly gasped, "She's here...oh, wow. She looks so grown up." Hans looked at her before fixing his appearance and walking up to her. Suddenly the doors of the tavern had burst open and tons of adventurers had entered, creating a blockade. Hans struggled and tried to move past the crowd, but it proved to be too difficult. 

Once they had taken their seats Hans finally broke through only to see that Arthur was now sitting alone. Panicked, he rushed towards him. 

"Where did she go?!"

"Who?" Arthur put his drink down. 

"The woman you were sitting with! That was my sister, where is she?!" he said quickly. 

Arthur made an 'o' shape with his mouth and pointed towards the door that was just closing. He watched as Hans ran and followed her out the door before recalling the conversation he had nearly thirty seconds ago. 

"Gretel...aren't you Hans' sister?" Arthur asked. 

The princess' smile had turned into a frown as she sighed, "You're part of the F6 aren't you? I'd appreciate it if you didn't say anything to him." 

"Well that's going to be a bit difficult because he's headed towards us right now…" he lifted his glass and saw Hans' reflection coming towards them. Just as the adventurers entered the tavern, Gretel quickly spoke. 

"Tell him I went out the front, I'm going to the back." 

"But he just wants to rekindle your relationship, do you have to be-" 

"No he doesn't," Gretel shook her head, "He's going to ask me for a donor nerve because his hand was crushed in that incident of yours and he can't use it properly. I know because his doctors already contacted me. After that he's just going to leave me behind...again." she said firmly. 

Arthur looked behind before looking at her pleading eyes once more, "...Alright get out of here. I don't want to be a part of this family drama." 

Gretel nodded in thanks and rushed out the back. He looked at her before going back to his own business, reminding himself once more that something really was missing. 

Outside the establishment, Audrey had begun mumbling under her breath. It was times like this where she missed her old travelling partner, Frost. Whenever any of the two had an unsettling encounter with someone, the other would always back them up, and it would usually end up with them robbing the poor fellow. 

Audrey stopped walking and thought for a bit. 

"Who was that Prince anyway…?" she questioned. 

However it wasn't long before a hand was clasped over her mouth, another hand pulling her wrists to her back and holding them firmly in place. Audrey inhaled a sharp amount of air before the nearby puddles on the streets violently splashed upwards. She struggled but it wasn't long before she was pulled into the dark alley with boxes and a broken mirror. 

"Shh, don't struggle too much, m'lady." said the captive. His voice sounded less aggressive, and more of someone who would rather get this over with. Audrey recognized the title he called her by, and that's when she knew exactly what this was about. 

She shook her head free of his hand to speak, "I told your Captain I can't do that anymore. That was a one time thing. What does he want?" 

Realizing that they both didn't want to be in the same situation, the man let go of her but still covered her exits, "I'm sorry, but you know how he is and I'll be damned if I come up empty handed." 

"You don't have to," she sighed and leaned against the wall as her hands rested on her hips, "You tell him that I don't need his money anymore. That I'm perfectly okay by myself, and that what he's doing is ridiculous. He should stop himself before he kills himself and his crew." 

"Miss Traveler, of course I realize that," 

The two looked towards the darker end of the alley. Heels clacking on the stone pavement until he kicked an empty glass bottle, "What I'm saying is that I trust in your ability to make things smoother for us." 

"Captain Caspier!" The member of his crew saluted, keeping himself in line. 

Caspier was known to the public to be a young man of mystery. Someone who was rarely on land and only on the seas. When he did come to the shores, it would be to inquire about trades and supplies. Few eyewitnesses of his appearance described him as one that is 'enough to make any man or woman weak in the knees' for whatever reason that may be to an individual. While his looks were adored and doted on by several women, others feared him for his ruthlessness in those who dared to cross him. Stories and rumors of short encounters with Peter Pan and the sea Captain circulated around the Island as well.

Audrey huffed as her eyes darkened, "Do you have any idea how much concentration I had to maintain for that period of time?" 

"Yes, I quite remember. You looked as if you wanted-" 

"Even a second of loss and those waves would've broken your mast and tore through your ship. No quality of wood would be able withstand those waters. I'm not controlling them again, not for any of your reasons." She said firmly. 

"Really? Even if I offer this much?" Caspier threw a large pouch at her feet. Still frowning, Audrey kneeled down and opened it up. Her eyes winded at the amount. 

"This is practically thirty pouches of…." 

"Silver, yes." Caspier reached into his pocket once more, pulling out a cigarette and a lighter, "That's almost the amount an upper middle class royalty would make in a year." 

Audrey merely stared at the bag. This could help her in so many ways. She could make a down payment for a house, and actually start a normal life. There would be no more traveling from town to town, no more stealing, and most importantly a place she could call 'home'. 

"…I understand what you're offering me." She spoke quietly. 

But she doesn't want to risk several lives for the sake of starting a new one when she already has one she's lived with for years. Not being able to stop the water from reaching them in time…that was something she could have a repeat of. And this time she wouldn't even have a good excuse. 

"And I have to decline," Audrey looked directly at him, "Unless the island is in danger, I see no reason besides your greed to continue with your expedition. That same greed that would have mercilessly killed your own crew." She spat. 

Caspier squinted his eyes at her briefly before he sighed and threw the cigarette to the pavement, "You think I care so little for my men; not that your respect matters to me, but know that they decided to join my crew based on ambition. Some were even insistent after I rejected them." He crushed the butt with his shoe. 

"They knew the risks and decided to join anyway." He motioned for the man to follow him out of the alleyway, passing by Audrey. Before he stepped out into the light, he paused, "I don't normally pay attention to my rumors, nor do I really care. But I'll have you, Miss Audrey, know that I'm not some blithering buffoon who's stupid enough to plan an expedition and not consider that risks of my men or my ship. Check yourself next time we meet, will you?"

Damn…what was with her and other people today? 

Audrey went to follow Caspier out in the streets, but he and his retinue were no longer seen. 

On the other end of the street was the main square where children played with each other. A festival had been ongoing and that was where Kio was headed. Recognizing his friend from above, he beamed and called out to him.

"Pan!" he waved with an energetic smile.

The man in green looked down from the roof, "Well I'll be, if it isn't one of the inventor brothers!"

He jumped off and slowly descended to his level, "Glad to see you come out and help." he raised his hand towards him. 

Kio nodded in agreement as he clasped his hand with Peter's, a sign of greeting between the two of them. The annual charity festival for the children of Golden Goose had arrived, and having quite a lot of experience with them, the prince of Neverland, Peter Pan, hosts it as it is something he looks forward to. 

The inventor was a good friend of Kio, they used to fight a lot prior but they had a lot of interactions and meetings afterwards. While his other two brothers decided to keep his distance from him, Kio felt some sort of comfort and joy when he spent time with him.

"Is Ms. Poppins here?" Kio asked, looking around the town square. 

"Yeah, over there with the younger ones,"

"She's teaching them how to help their families with basic chores." He motioned to the elegant, prim and proper Mary Poppins. She wore a green Victorian Era dress from the outside world; to top it off she wore her hair in a tight bun which was kept neatly under a red beret decorated with a flower. A gentle smile graced her face as she pulled out a vacuum cleaner from her purse. 

She had been a friend of Peter's ever since the early 1900's, and he viewed her as some sort of older, big, sister. If anything, she was the definition of a woman of her time.

"Well doesn't she have a lovely smile," Kio felt at peace with the older woman's energy. The kind of aura she had made you want to sit down and relax with her over some tea. 

"Please, wait till she gets to her lectures." Peter scoffed, "It's been a whole pain in my…" 

Peter trailed off as he saw a familiar face in the crowd, one that he would only recognize in Neverland.

"By Jove…it couldn't be. Is that the Captain himself?" He whispered to himself. 

"What's up?" Kio asked, looking in the same direction. 

"Nothing, nothing," he waved aimlessly, "Go introduce yourself to Poppins, be right back." 

Without waiting for a response, Peter flew through the mass crowd. A series of phrases like 'excuse me' and 'sorry' were said before a light smile showed on his face as he tugged his arm. 

"Ahoy there!" he yelled excitedly.

Caspier had widened his eyes and turned back to see the ginger haired boy, "Oh, dear god…" he uttered. 

Quickly, he reached for his pants and brought out a pocket watch. As soon as he clicked it, all the people in Golden Goose froze. It was almost like a picture, a moment in time, except it really was! All except Caspier, who sighed in relief as he began to turn to the exit. 

"No freaking way, man. How the hell did you pull this off?!" Peter flew around to look at the various faces of the citizens. 

The obnoxious voice made the Captain cringe in shock, "How on earth?!" but then he made the quick connection, "...You're still under your curse." 

"Don't have to rub it in, cap." Peter said nonchalantly. It's true that Peter's Neverland curse made him immortal, but he could never have any true friends as they would all go on without him. Though the cons weigh the pros, the latter wasn't so bad, it made him immune to advance Fairy Tale Island technology like this. After all, you can't change what was made in the past. 

"I can't believe you stole that from Wonderland! That place is still no-man's land!" he said, referring to the pocket watch. Peter knew that the Captain loved going through restricted areas, and what better than the most cut off region of Fairy Tale Island? 

Caspier looked at the watch's engraving, "Stolen from the 8th Delusion, yeah. Only one other in the world, and that happens to belong to the real White Rabbit." 

Peter flew over and inspected the same symbols, "Shame what happened to that girl who fell in from the real world. The original members of Wonderland too. It was an idiotic plan but that girl had guts." 

Noticing that he was losing Caspier's patience, Peter spoke quickly, "So what brings you here? Away from the waters and all." 

"Business, Pan. What else? Think I came here to give you a kiss on the cheek?" Caspier sighed roughly. 

"That last part on a different location would actually be pretty helpful to my whole situation, so yeah I kind of am." Peter nodded jokingly. 

Caspier gave a small fake smile as he nodded as it faded into a frown, "Alright, I'll see you in the fog, Pan." He clicked the pocket watch once more and time resumed, leaving the captain and his companion nowhere to be seen. 

Peter looked around before he started to head back to the square. Suddenly a woman came out of the alleyway, looking left and right. 

"Where'd he go? The tall blond man?" she asked frantically. 

Knowing the drill in covering up the Captain's appearances on land, Peter responded, "Who?"

"Right here." a man who they were both not referring to stepped towards them and looked at the woman, "I didn't properly introduce myself back there, my apologies for assuming you'd know me. My name is Prince Jack of the F6, a private investiga-" 

"The man who just came out of this alleyway!" she insisted to Peter, ignoring and waving the prince off. 

"No idea! Looks like you two are acquaintances now so I'll leave you be. I have, uh, a thing there." 

Jack watched as Peter left and turned towards the woman, "If you're thinking I'm here to apologize-" 

"I couldn't imagine you would." she frowned. 

"Good. Because I'm not." Jack put his hands on his hips, "As I said I am a private investigator and I saw Captain Caspier with you. Mind telling me what that was about?" 

"What exactly are you?" she asked, crossing her arms. 

"A private investigator, keep up, Miss Audrey. Now your partnership with Captain Caspier of the Oleander Fleet intrigues me." He nodded

"Gross, how did you know that?" she backed away.

"It's what I do." he leaned in closer. Audrey looked him in the eye before he glanced away, "...Alright, fine, I overheard your conversation. But I was hoping you would give me intel on his whereabouts and motives for going to this uncharted location on Fairy Tale Island."

"Do I get paid?" she asked. 

Jack huffed before letting out a breath of air, "Well, you sure aren't shy…not thirty pouches of silver, but enough."

Back on the other end of the street, Kio had begun stitching torn clothes with Mary Poppins as the two chatted. Her lovely presence made him a little nervous, but he was nonetheless happy.

He usually wouldn't come to these kinds of things, but there was something about Peter that made him want to come out of his shell and help.

"You're smiling, dear." 

Kio snapped out of his thoughts as he turned to Mary as her lips curved upwards gracefully.

"I wonder who's occupying that smart brain of yours?" she kindly teased as she pulled her needle up in the air. 

"No one, Ms. Poppins." he chuckled as he continued with his work. 

"It wouldn't hurt to have a little romance with him,"

"Ow!" Kio had pricked himself through his glove as soon as she had said that. 

"Caught you off guard, dear?" she laughed politely, "Give it here." 

She really was like a nanny as she took his hand and removed his glove before gasping, "Dear me, you really should take better care of your hands! Some lotion and massages ought to do the trick. They are very important to your work after all." 

However, that was the last thing on his mind as he was still caught off guard with what she had said. As she began to disinfect the wound he shyly asked,

"W-what did you mean by romance? With you?" 

"Pish posh, little Kio. You know very well who I speak of." Mary shook her head. 

Kio huffed as he slouched on the chair, his ears reddening as she continued, "It's been years since Wendy has passed away, nearly a century since she got married! He seems happier now but he can't stay lonely and immortal forever. For goodness sake, Kio, straighten that back of yours! You're not a shrimp frying the rice." 

"Yes ma'am!" He quickly remembered his harsh and strict etiquette lessons with Jiminy when he and his brothers were younger. 

"All I'm saying is that you should spend more time with him," she continued, "I'm exhausted of seeing him make friends only to have them pass away. Having someone to break his curse may not be the worst idea." 

Satisfied with her work, Mary leaned back and smiled. "There! Fit as a fiddle. Now," she clapped her hands once, "time to clean up our station before he returns. Spit spot!" 

"Geez…" 

Hans fell on the warm sand as he was slowly starting to give up. The sand would get everywhere. Everywhere. But he didn't care, nothing mattered anymore. Not his cooking, not the F6, not his sister.

He had looked for Gretel all around Golden Goose, and when that didn't work, he went to the surrounding areas but with no luck. 

Maybe Rapunzel was right. Maybe he was too selfish. He knows he was in the wrong for leaving her behind when they were younger, and to ask for her help is even more selfish. He lifted his hand up to look at it as it spasmed just from the mere act.

Maybe this was karma for how he treated her...

"Um...not to be a total vibe killer, but can you like, mope somewhere else?" 

A teenaged voice was heard from the waters. Confused, Hans looked up from the sand and quickly saw a tail. A mermaid tail. Looking further, he saw a mermaid with tan skin and grey-blue hair crossing her arms at him. 

"While I do see this," she pointed her finger back and forth between her and Hans, "working out, I'd rather not spend the first few dates comforting you about whatever loss you just had."

"...Who are you?" Hans asked. 

"Someone who needs this space to search for a new lover." she grinned looking out to the beach. 

"Gross," Hans flatly stated but then asked, "Do you have any idea how to get out of those woods?"

"The Ambages Woods? I'm afraid those change rather quite quickly, you'll need someone to navigate you in there. It can't be me." She looked behind and lifted her tail up. "I do have a human friend though who visits me and the others down in the ocean, she crosses the woods frequently but I don't know when she'll visit again." 

Hans frowned and slumped on a nearby rock and into the sand. 

The mermaid flinched and put her hands up quickly, "Hey! Don't worry! Um…" she looked sideways before swimming up closer to the shore, "My name is Mihija. What's yours?" 

"You seriously don't recognize me?" 

Hans put a hand below his face as he blankly stared at her. Mihija only had a troubled expression on her face as she struggled for the right words. 

"N-no? I don't go out on land often…" she fiddled with her fingers, "Umm...if it's any help or if you need the consolation of any sort, there's a real princess in the woods up east."

"Which princess?! Can you take me to her?" Hans immediately shot up and clasped Mihija's hands on his own. 

'EHHH?!'

 Mihija was a romantic girl, and went head over heels over any sort of physical or emotional affection no matter who it was from. One could compare her to a schoolgirl with a crush. 

"W-well if you insist," she laughed haughtily, her voice stuttering as she averted her gaze. The blush on her face is oh-so ever obvious. "She's a princess who's been cursed to stay there until someone kisses her. She lives inside the woods though, so I can only guide you to it. Be prepared to walk along the sand!" 

Hans slowly recognized who Mihija was talking about and he couldn't hide his disappointment. It wasn't Gretel. 

She noticed this and sighed, "Now what?" 

"Nothing, it's just," he paused, "I know who you're talking about, Briar Rose. We already broke her curse." 

He and the F7 broke her curse when they received a poster from her parents requesting their help. It was Hans himself who kissed her and broke her curse. But nothing really happened between them, they parted ways after they had guided her out of the forest. 

Mihija put her hands behind her back and tilted her head, "Well, it wouldn't hurt to visit her, right?" 

Hans slowly nodded. She was very beautiful, and there was something about her that he liked, though he couldn't place what it was as their time was short together. A visit after the long day would probably help recover his mood. 

He nodded at the mermaid. 

"Great! Follow me, and don't be afraid to tell me all about your friends! Preferably the single ones." she quickly added.

---

"This is what's left of her?" Merlin asked Meredith. 

In the center of the King's room stood a tree with no leaves. He could make out the princess' face as the expression on her face looked panicked. Panicked, but…

"I don't recall her looking this beautiful…" he reached his hand out and touched the wood that was her cheek." 

"Well, that is her. Unfortunately, the witch that the Delusions killed never lifted this curse, and it's not surprising that they didn't bother to help her." Meredith sighed.

"What sort of magic do you do?" Merlin asked her, hoping she could do something to help the princess.

"I don't have any magic," she stated flatly. 

"Don't give me that, Mer." Merlin attempted to sound friendly to break down some walls, "You're the Pied Piper, surely you didn't get that name without a little help." 

"I didn't," she twirled her flute out and showed him, "It's not magic, I'm just very observant of people. It's all in the human mind. All I need to do is to find the right tune. Music is a very powerful weapon, people react to certain tunes very differently, it could make them angry, happy, sad, reminiscent, or even catch them off guard.  That is my magic, my eyes, and my mind." she put a finger towards her head, "I guess you could call it a gift rather than magic."

Merlin sighed but nodded in understanding.

"I'm sorry I couldn't help you, Miss…" Merlin paused and thought for a moment. 

"Snow," Meredith told him with her hands behind her back. Her posture was tight as a clam as she stood looking at the tree, "Princess Snow White." 

"Snow…" Merlin muttered. As if it were a wave, a feeling of nostalgia came over him as he suddenly put his hand to his head. However, the feelings soon faded as he calmed himself down. "Sorry…something felt weird." 

Meredith raised her eyebrows as if realizing something, and quickly twirled her flute out and placed it near her lips. The moment that melody hit Merlin's ears, an unimaginable pain went through his heart and mind. Flashes of several different scenarios went through his mind. He was shorter, chubbier, greener? But he was happy, a different kind of happy from the thrill he gets from his fame. 

A scene played in his head, him sitting on a log by the lake during the sunset, and he wasn't alone. The most beautiful woman he had seen was sitting to his left. Though he couldn't properly see her face, there was some sort of comforting feeling she gave him that made his heart go soft. 

Then it suddenly vanished from his view as he was met with the sight of Snow White's husk embedded in the tree. The music stopped, and Merlin was left swirling with a cloud of emotions. 

"Sorry," Meredith soon apologized as she lowered her flute, "The emotion you just experienced when you said her name…it's one of a kind. Something I rarely see, almost never, really." 

Merlin stayed silent and looked towards the tree of Snow White, "What kind of emotion was it?" 

"That's the thing," she gave a short hollow chuckle, "It was so many. Grief, lost love…the loss of the start of something…something so right?" She suggested towards him, "I can't quite place it. Almost as if you're lost. Like this wasn't the path you were meant to take."

After calming down, the two bid goodbye as they said they would call on one another if ever any of them needed help. Merlin decided to take one last look around the halls of the White Palace. 

Everything seemed so familiar, yet so foreign. He could only imagine the joy the castle once had as it was filled with occupants...or at least it was supposed to have more occupants.

Eventually, Merlin came to pause when he noticed a large frame in one of the rooms. He walked towards it and observed its placement. It was hung over a series of what he presumed to be artifacts of the palace. Oddly enough, the frame was empty. It was just a husk of something that was supposed to be there. People who were supposed to be in that frame. But they weren't. 

…

"Why the hell do I feel so bad…" Merlin frowned at the new aching hole in his chest.